Geojit in Rs 2.5 crore spread plan, to set up 20 branches

Geojit Financial Services Ltd, the erstwhile Geojit Securities Ltd, plans to invest Rs 2.5 crore to fund its expansion plans during the next three months.

Geojit managing director C J George said the expansion plan, aimed at pushing market leadership, includes setting up around 20 new branches and a 24-hour in-house call centre for tele-trading.

The maximum number of branches would come up in Maharashtra, with 10 in Mumbai and one each in Nashik, Satara and Pune.

The other branches would be set up in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Some of these branches would focus on wealth management consultancy and service only high net worth individuals.

Categorised as Platinum Club branches, these units would act as single-stop facilities for high net worth individuals to get advise from trained consultants on their financial needs.

They would also handle portfolio management-related issues and offer an array of products for generating capital growth.

Moreover, a 16-seater call centre, which would be operational soon, is coming up in Kochi. This centre would be manned by trained dealers who are MBAs and chartered accountants, speaking different Indian languages.

They will handle tele-trading, capital market-related queries as well as financial product marketing. By the end of this year, this call centre would offer its services to all the clients of its 100 offices across the country.

Geojit, one of the first brokers to become a depository participant of the National Securities Depository Ltd, currently holds over Rs 1,000 crore in assets under its management.

The company entered the derivatives market in its nascent stages and is today recognised for its role in popularising futures and options across the country.

Geojit had recently launched online commodity futures trading through its subsidiary, a member of the National Multi-commodity Exchange.

Emphasising that the name change of the company was aimed with a view to reflect the growing range of new financial products and services taken up by the company over the last few years, George said, "Geojit Securities, which had started with just stock broking 17 years ago, has now grown to offering complete wealth management solutions."